


A Change of Heart

by Tookbaggins



Category: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Genre: F/M, Old Fic, repost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23640760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tookbaggins/pseuds/Tookbaggins
Summary: The problem between Peka, Stitch, and Owen seems to be solved, but now they have 593 to contend with. Will she ever learn to appreciate her new found home? sequel to Mahalo StitchOriginally posted October 2002/February2003





	1. Wanderer

**Author's Note:**

> No comment

Dedication: there are several people that this story is for. First of all: Kawaii Spinel Queen of Evil. A very active and talented author who deserves a lot of credit for her stories. Second of all: Keysha. She doesn't get to update as often as the rest of us, but that only makes her stories better. Both of those two put me to shame. This story is also dedicated to Caf-Een the Insomniac (who hasn't posted any stories yet, but we're all waiting with bated breath). Now that that's over. **************************************************************************** ********

Wanderer,

Why do you walk this lonely road?

Traveler,

Why carry such a heavy load?

You say you don't mind, it's all right,

Lookin' for that familiar place each night.

Wanderer

Why do you walk away?

Traveler,

Why won't you stay?

You've been walkin' for far too long,

Come to this place where you belong.

So tell me

Why do you not see me?

Don't you understand what we mean

To each other?

Oh my brother.

Does it do any good

To keep walkin' for dreams?

Know how much we care for you

And hope you feel it too.

A place to belong

Family

People who care

Just like me

Come on and give it a chance

Find your place and take a name.

Give me a chance.


	2. 314 - The Experiment Who Lived

"I can not believe it." Doctor Jumba Jookiba stared open-mouthed at the blackened little creature before him and the tall, reptilian scientist flanking her. "That blast should have killed you both!" Peka Pelekai scratched her arm timidly, her fur blackened with dust and burns and the beautiful emerald only showing in a few places.

"I know, Professor. Personally, I can't believe Pish tripped on the window sill and fell on top of you." She scowled. Pish shrugged apologetically, but before he could reply they were interrupted but a muffled beep.

"Sorry." He whipped out a cell phone and retreated into a corner. Peka pointed at him with her thumb and gave Jumba a "why - on - Turo - does - he - have - a - cell - phone - and - who - could - possibly - be - calling - him?" look. Jumba just shrugged and resumed their conversation.

"Peka would you mind if I ran few tests on you after you have several days to rest?"

"Why?" Jumba shrugged as if it were obvious.

"Peka, you are not indestructible. Let alone fireproof. Perhaps there is more to you than I all, you were my first living experiment. I didn't care much for . I never gave them any thought." He smiled down at her, his fatherly nature coming through. "I am very glad you are safe, Little One. Now why don't you go and get little food and see other criminals. I'm sure they'll be very excited." He glanced at Pish and sighed. "I'll keep eye on him." Peka nodded and disappeared into the dark hallway, not bothering to hide her slight limp from her creator. Jumba turned to Pish as he hung up his phone. "Now that was important, wasn't it?"

***

"Help! Help! The vultures are eating my face!" Owen shouted desperately, unable to free himself from the monstrous birds. He watched in horror as a huge, beaked face stared him straight in the eye.

"You idiot! Wake up!" Owen chuckled nervously at the talking bird.

"Wh-huh?"

"I said wake up!" Owen opened his eyes again as a clawed foot collided with his arm. He looked to the other side of the bed to see Stitch glaring at him. "Nice dream, Owen?" Owen untangled himself from the twisted blanket and straightened his pillow.

"It was okay." He squeaked as a stuffed animal tumbled out of his blankets. Stitch grinned at him good-naturedly.

"Is that yours?"

" must have left it up here."

"Sure." Stitch kicked Owen again just for the heck of it as they settled down again. "Did you ever realize you snore?"

"No I don't! Just go to sleep!" Owen stared at the ceiling above him, thinking suddenly about just a week not even that long. What a big he had been sleeping in an alley, thinking of he was here, with his family, and Peka was gone.

He fingered the stuffed animal under his pillow, he wished so much that he could talk to her again. maybe fight with Stitch a little like they used ignored the light touch on his arm. Why not go make a sandwich? Chocolate frosting and peanut butter sounded pretty good. The light touch became an insistent poking. Maybe peanut butter and poke became a jab.

"Stitch, for the love of-" he lifted his head to glare, but Stitch was snoring softly at the other end of the bed.

"For the love of what?" Owen made a few choking sounds as Peka threw her arms around him. "You didn't really think I'd leave you guys that easy, do you?"

"P-Peka? You're alive?"

"Yep!" she released him to rouse Lilo and Stitch. Owen waited impatiently as the three held a happy reunion. Finally, Peka turned to him.

"How did you survive?" he asked as he hugged her again. She narrowed her sapphire eyes thoughtfully and glanced at the doorway. 593 was peeking irritably into the room. Peka smiled and turned back to him.

"I don't know, but I couldn't die just yet. I couldn't leave my family behind."


	3. We Were

"I can't believe this." Owen put his arm around Peka as hey crossed the almost rebuilt porch. "And to think, half an hour ago I was thinking of how I had everything I would ever need you. But I have one question." He leaned against the railing, smiling contentedly as the sky overhead grew pale.

"Anything, what's on your mind?"

"Why did you go to me first? Instead of Stitch? I mean, I thought you two-" Peka silenced him and climbed onto the railing, motioning him to follow.

"I love Stitch. But it's not that kind of love. At least, I think it's not. Owen, when you kissed me before you left, I don't think I could ever put into words what I was feeling. You turned my whole life into a mess of doubts." She picked at the paint a little, waiting for him to answer. He didn't, so she went on. "for the first time since I had come to this island I didn't know which was more important to me: Stitch, who had cared so much for me, or you, who was actually leaving because of how you felt for me. I didn't know what to do. I lay around all the time, just thinking about you. At first Stitch would take me places looking for you, but I think he wasn't trying hard. Which is , listen to me. Rambling like an idiot."

"You don't sound like an idiot, Peka." Owen stared at her, once again thinking of his night in the alley. The pale light of the coming sun made her look even more beautiful to him. "If I had known all this.I wouldn't have done it. I didn't mean to destroy your life-"

"Owen, you didn't destroy my life! And I'm glad you did it. It made me realize what I had been missing. I love Stitch. And he loves me. But we weren't meant to be together. But." she reached out and took his hand shyly. "We were." Owen smiled as he once again put his arms around her, this time knowing she would let him.

'I don't understand any of these people.' 593 thought. She turned away from the low window where she had been watching Peka and Owen. They seemed happy at least. But she was still wondering why she bothered to stay. She thought momentarily of Istari. Maybe she should get her own place . They would just be dropping in constantly. She stomped around the room for a few minutes, wanting to break something. She got these urges quite often, but at Pish's begging had learned to control them. She'd gotten him in trouble a lot of times. She had been overjoyed when she picked up his voice coming from Jookiba's bedroom, but she'd kill herself before she let on. With a yawn she curled up on the couch (what was left of it, anyway).

"I don't get it. Why's she going off with Owen? He's so hard to get along with." Lilo chittered happily at Stitch, who was sprawled out on the bed staring at the ceiling.

"I've lost her, Lilo."

"But she's just on the porch." He shook his head, even though she couldn't see it.

"No, I mean I've lost her to Owen. You probably won't understand for awhile yet."

" know, I like 593's fur. It's pretty and soft." Stitch smiled as the little girl talked. He so often forgot how much older than him she was. Humans much mature differently or something.

"Don't try petting her, she probably won't like it." He warned. Lilo just giggled.

"You never really liked it either, Stitch. She acts like you."

"gee, thanks."

"No, I mean like you used to."

"Oh." They fell into that silence that happens just before the clock alarm goes off. "Lilo, do me a favor and never fall in love."

"Okay!" she climbed into the bed next to him. "Do you count?" Stitch wrapped his arms around her.

"of course not."


	4. 592 Makes a Mistake

"Not quite so threatening when she's asleep, is she?" 593 listened irritably to the voices of Nani and Istari in the kitchen doorway. She considered jumping up and breaking something, but Pish wouldn't be too happy about it.

"Do I smell bacon? And toast? Bacon sandwiches are very good, you know." 593 watched Nani hand Owen a loaf of bread and a plate through slitted eyes. She wondered for a moment why on Earth he had such a liking for sandwiches, then decided it was just another strange mystery of the universe. Sighing, she rolled herself off of the couch pillow where she had been curled. Though she made no effort to hurry, she still beat the rest of the family to the table. She sat glowering as everyone else grabbed plates and dug into to the huge breakfast Nani and Istari had prepared.

593 stared at her gathered bacon, the only thing she really liked. Irritably, she nibbled at it before pushing it away and making her way outside. She felt so nervous, maybe it was the people. She didn't notice the swell of sound as the door behind her swung open.

Stitch bit his lip as he approached 593 on the front steps. He worried about her constantly. She seemed so unhappy, so edgy. She didn't turn around as her approached her. Drawing up all his courage, he reached out to tap her shoulder.

593 jumped at the unexpected touch and whirled around, instinctively slashing out with her razor sharp claws.

Stitch fell back in surprise as her claws cut into his skin. He stared at the cut on his chest as it began to bleed, then looked up at 593. She stood over him, seeming thoroughly confused. "Stitch, I-" she stopped and her eyes widened. "Blood." without a word she turned and fled under the porch.

Stitch watched her go, equally confused. He had never been cut before. He wasn't supposed to get cut. Scared out of his wits, he jumped to his feet and left in search of Jumba.

"Now, I'm thinking we should start on those tests-" Jumba turned away from Owen and Peka as the door burst open, revealing Stitch in a full-blown panic. Lilo followed close behind him.

"Jumba! Something's wrong!" the scientist bent down next to the frightened alien.

"What is it? What is going on?" Stitch presented his bleeding chest to his creator. Lilo burst into tears and clutched at her friend.

"He's bleeding! I thought he wasn't supposed to bleed!" Jumba smiled and picked the two up, sitting them on the counter next to Peka and Owen. Carefully, he inspected the injury through the blue fur blanketing Stitch's chest. Finally he straightened and turned away to a nearby cabinet.

"W-what's wrong with me?" Stitch stammered. Peka and Owen watched wide- eyed. Jumba turned back to them feigning serious worry, a needle and thread in hand.

"Well, you are getting stitches. (No pun intended! ) it will hurt, and it may take while." He took Lilo by the hand and turned her away, Owen turned pale and joined her. "I honestly never thought I'd be doing tell me what happened while I fix you."

'What was that.I'm not supposed to hurt people. I promised Pish.' 593 huddled in the shadows, talking to herself. She rarely did it, only when she was confused. "I didn't mean to. Why did I do that." she turned away as Pish stuck his head under the porch.

" I talk to you?"

"No."

"You didn't do anything wrong. Come out."

"Yes I did. And I enjoyed it!" she growled, trying to appear vicious.

"Nonsense, if you enjoyed it you wouldn't be out here." 593 hesitated before dropping her villain act. Pish knew her well enough to tell what she was feeling.

"He's probably mad at me, Pish. When someone's mad, someone else always gets hurt." Pish watched her thoughtfully.

"Stitch has already gotten hurt. He's not angry with you. No one is." 593 turned her head towards him slightly.

"Would he forgive me?"

"I don't know. But it's worth a try. Why not go apologize?" 593 sighed and gave in. she crawled into the open and looked up at Pish.

"Okay. You isn't really as bad as he seems." Pish smiled after her as she disappeared inside.

"No one's as bad as they seem."


	5. What’s With 593?

"How did she do this?" Stitch watched Jumba's needle as the scientist carefully stitched his wound back together. Jumba paused and thought for a moment.

"Well, 593 was my first experiment that retained the metallic compound that I inserted into her genes. But instead of adding strength to her bones and skin like it did with you, the compounds seemed to become isolated in her claws. This gave her ability to cut through other metals. Which is how she was able to cut through your skin."

"Oh." Stitch fell silent and glanced at Owen, Peka, and Lilo. Owen cringed and concentrated hard on the floor in front of him, glad that Peka was between him and Stitch. He sometimes wondered why he was weak stomached, but he couldn't think of any reason to. Peka circled him until she could look into his face.

"I can't believe 593 would do something like this."

"Well, she's not exactly it was an accident."

"Maybe it wasn't. If she can hurt Stitch like that, even without meaning to, imagine what she could do to the rest of us. I like 593, but she' ."

"Destructive?" Jumba suggested from where he was working on Stitch. The little alien leaned back and stared at the wall patiently.

"Yeah." Peka fell silent and settled herself on the floor. Pulling Owen down so that he was still turned away.

"593 was not always this way. When she was first created she was a . She helped me as much as she could. One night I had called out for dinner as I always did. 593 would put money outside and hide until delivery-man was gone, then bring it back. One night we did this as always, but she didn't come back. I sent out a few of the others to look for her.476, 615, and Peka."

"I don't remember anything like that." Peka spoke up from her place next to Owen. He crossed his arms indignantly without looking at them.

"That was me, Doc."

"Sorry, Owen. They followed as well as they could, but lost trail at lift where it opened into the lobby. It was then that they reported back to me and described where trail seemed to be leading. I decided to make a visit to one of my name was Quek."

"You knew Quek?" Lilo squealed in disgust.

"Yes, I knew him well. When I visited him, I couldn't help but sneak in 476, he had best nose. When Quek's back was turned, I let him loose. Sure enough he returned with news of 593. I confronted Quek with it (mainly because 476 was there) and demanded her return. But he threatened to expose me to the Grand Council and I gave in. He took 476 then too. I wanted to kill him. I really did. I rarely show it, experiments were the only family I had." The large scientist sighed as he looked down at Stitch; the little alien stared back with an air of understanding about him. "I returned to my laboratory, thinking of way to rescue the two, but next morning I was arrested and Stitch taken into custody. One thing lead to another and here we are."

"Doc, I don't know about those two, but I don't remember anything about 476. I mean, I didn't know the other experiments that well, I think I got on they're nerves, but the number doesn't ring a bell. I don't even remember him helping us look for 593." Owen fidgeted impatiently, wanting to look at Stitch, but knowing he'd get sick. Jumba shrugged his massive shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe your memory isn't good. Now, as I was saying, 593 was not with Quek for very long, not much more than a year but he must have been very cruel to her. I don't know if you've noticed, but her ears have scars around the area where they connect to her head. I believe he caused these. It was Quek who turned her into what she is now.a heartless disgrace."

"That's not true!" Stitch shoved Jumba's hands away from him angrily. "593 is not heartless! You should have seen her the night Peka came back; she seemed so.I don't know, vulnerable. Like it was all an act and she's really not all that mean." He glared up at his creator, something close to a desperate hope in his eyes. "I was a heartless disgrace."

"Appearances can be very deceiving, little one."


	6. Awkward Apology

Experiment 593 wrung her hands nervously as she stood outside the door, listening to the conversation inside. She felt her face grow hot under her fur when Stitch defended a stab of resentment at Jumba's remark. Why was he doing that? She was always so mean to him, and here he was defending her even though he had no reason. Or did he? All he knew about her was that she liked to break things and cause trouble, but he seemed to understand her so well. He couldn't possibly. He had never gone through the things she had.

593 narrowed her eyes and scowled as she threw the door open, finding Stitch sporting a fresh bandage and Jumba silently cleaning his needle and such. All heads turned to her. "I need to talk to Stitch."

"Okay." Owen muttered from where he and Peka had gotten trapped behind the door.

"Alone." 593 growled. Peka tugged Owen into view and out the door, Jumba following close behind. In the hall, Jumba carefully left the door ajar, leaning close to listen.

"What are you doing?" Peka hissed indignantly. Jumba shrugged innocently.

"Just making sure everything is all right."

"That's right!" Owen chimed in, taking a place next to his creator. "We're a lot older than Stitch! We gotta look out for him." Peka shook her head irritably and retreated into the kitchen.

Stitch stared at the wall, list4ening to the whispers outside. He considered letting them know he had heard, but they should have known that.

"Stitch?" he turned away from 593 and diligently studied the wall again. "Stitch, I-" she broke off hesitantly, unable to find the right words. "Look, I've never done this before and I have no clue if I'm doing it right." Stitch twisted his head to look at her. "I just want to tell you that I really mean it." Before he could react, 593 leaped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

'What in heck's bathroom is this?' Stitch thought. 'Why is she hugging me?' "593, are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine. Did I hurt you before?"

"Not too much." Stitch wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but he hoped it would stay as good as it seemed.

"Good. I' ." He sat down behind him and sighed hesitantly. "Stitch, could you do me a favor?"

"I guess so." He replied, not knowing what to expect.

" , I want you to name me." He stared at her. for a name. It seemed rather unlike her.

"Okay, I'll talk to Lilo-"

"No!" 593 interrupted. "I want you to do it."

'Oh, great.' He thought. 'How am I supposed to do this? I guess it's the first thing that comes to mind again.' "How about Twyla?"

".Twyla?" 593's eyebrow shot up. "That'll work. Just don't tell anybody, okay?"

"Sure thing." Stitch promised, feeling strangely happier than he had for a long time.


	7. Peka’s Gift

"Those two can be so immature sometimes." Peka sighed, digging through the refrigerator like a starved dog. "Owen must be rubbing off on me. All I can think about is food!" she happily opened a can of icing and sniffed it. would work. She groped around to find something else, but gave up after encountering sticky goo and fuzzy pizza. With yet another sigh she settled on the counter and leaned against the refrigerator. Her ears turned toward the whispered coming from the hall as she dipped her paws into the icing.

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know. I can't see thing."

"Do you think she's killed him yet?" Owen's voice was slightly anxious.

"Definitely not. Stitch can defend hold his own."

"Hey, you think they're know."

"OWEN!" Peka giggled at Stitch's roar and the sound of a slamming door smacking something. Owen slumped into the room rubbing his head and joined her on the counter, followed by Jumba who immediately snatched the icing and kept it for himself.

"Eat something healthy, Peka." She gaped indignantly for a moment before deciding to drop the matter.

"Trouble in the spy business, boys?" she asked sweetly.

"You heard, eh?"

"Of course." Owen reached out and got some icing for himself. He tried to talk through his paw shoved in his mouth.

"What were you going to say, Doc? Before Stitch came in I mean." It actually came out as. "Mmmm mmmm mmm mmmmm mm mmm, Mmm? Mmmmmm Mmmmmm mmmm mm, M mmmm." Jumba interpreted it easily.

"Ah, yes. Peka I have found answer to why you are here."

"Already? But you haven't even tested me!" she exclaimed.

("Yeah, weird." Owen muttered. "One chapter we're marveling at the fact that you're alive. The next we're finding out. I think Took's on crack.")

"Do you remember, Peka, when you were created?" Peka thought hard for a moment.

"Kind of. There weren't any other experiments."

"Oh boy! Another science talk!" Owen squealed girlishly. They just ignored him.

"Right, and I didn't create any more for quite awhile."

"Why?" Peka inquired. "I always heard you were obsessed."

"I was." Jumba sighed, just a little shamefully. "But for time being you were enough. I was happy with companion."

"That's fine, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Give me chance! Like I've said, you didn't seem to have any destructive capabilities (which is all I was interested in). I just never considered what you might call, capabilities. You see, little one, you are the reason that you and Pish survived that explosion."

"I-I don't understand." Peka snuggled up to Owen for no particular reason other than being confused.

"I didn't expect you to. You see, you have strange ability to protect yourself from harm, but not entirely. You can also do this for others, somewhat better than for yourself."

"Then why are we just now figuring it out?" Peka asked as Owen slid off the table and headed back to the hall.

"Sorry." Owen grinned sheepishly.

"You can't do it at will. Only in times of great fear or determination."

"Oh that's great. I wish I could have done this before." Jumba laid a massive hand on her head, knowing the thoughts in her mind.

"Maybe it's happened more than you think." He stretched his massive arms and glanced out the window. "Is getting late. I wonder where everyone is?"

"Well, Nani and David took Lilo out to the beach. Guess they wanted to get away in case a fight broke out. Pleakley I haven't seen. Pish was on the ."

"Oh. How do you know all that?" Jumba asked. Peka just shrugged.

"I'm more observant than everyone else, I guess."

"Hey, Doc!" they turned to see Owen crouched outside the door where Stitch was holed up with Twyla. He looked extremely worried. "I think you should hear this."

"Okay, I'm telling you this now. Never call me Twyla in front of the others." Twyla growled. Stitch just stared at her.

" I don't see why."

"It just feels weird, that's all." Stitch smiled and shrugged.

"Sure thing. You know-" he stopped abruptly as his ears picked up a movement behind the door. "You want to keep this between us, right?"

"Right."

"Owen's outside listening. He's only been there for a few seconds so he hasn't heard much." Twyla glanced to the door and grinned impishly.

"Then let's give him something to listen to." She hissed and crept towards the door. Stitch followed immediately, liking Twyla more than ever, finding an apparently mischievous side.

"What are we doing?" Stitch asked. Twyla just shushed him and raised her voice considerably.

"You know, Stitch." (Owen was quite gullible) "I think Owen has been getting too nosy lately."

"Yeah," Stitch chimed in, picking up the game immediately. "He knows too much."

"He'll have to be taken care of. I'm thinking an untraceable poison." They stopped to listen to Owen's reaction. Stitch could nearly hear him panicking.

"Hey, Doc. I think you should hear this."

"That's our cue." Twyla nodded. Stitch grabbed the door and pulled (a little too hard, it popped from the frame) and Twyla bolted out, tackling Owen and snarling threateningly.

"Why were you eavesdropping? Does the word PRRIVACY mean anything to you?" she pulled his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Nope. Noth-DON"T HURT ME! Please, I have a family to fend for!" he howled. Twyla really seemed to be enjoying herself.

"No you don't." Twyla sneered, pulling on his arm even more.

"Actually, yes he does." Twyla dropped Owen in surprise as everyone (including Stitch. Who was trying to fix the door) stared at Jumba.

"What?" Peka asked faintly. Jumba looked around in disbelief.

"You didn't know?" he turned to Peka. "You're having children, Peka."

"Plural?" Owen squeaked. Jumba shrugged.

"Who knows? I thought it was obvious. She's suddenly gaining how she eats. She's starting to act like you, Owen."

"Oh, so you're saying I'm pregnant?" Owen climbed to his feet and went to Peka's side. He took her hand thoughtfully for a moment. "Then that means I'm.I've gotta tell Istari!" he joyously ran for the door, knocking over a chair as he went.

"I half-expected him to pass out." Stitch mused, watching from behind Twyla. Jumba began to laugh.

"When he fully realizes what's going will."


	8. Good News and Bad News

Owen ran as fast as his chubby little legs would carry him, hoping he remembered the way to Istari's house. He'd only been there once, and that was by accident. Eventually he came to the town and picked a random house. Bursting through the door he found an old man staring at him like he needed to see a shrink. "Definitely not Istari." Owen choked out between gasps. "Sorry, just passing through." He retreated to the street and bolted into a house across the street. Much screaming followed as he fled that house too (accompanied by a flying lamp). Finally (after ramming into many locked doors and such) he found the right house. Istari looked up from her computer as he burst inside.

"Istari!" he gasped (he'd been running since he left home), "I'm pregnant! She's a father!" he abruptly fell silent and fainted in the doorway. The full realization had hit him.

"I wonder if he passed out before he got there?" Stitch sat peering through the window next to Peka. Owen had been gone for quite some time. For all they knew he was lying in the middle of a street holding up traffic.

"I hope not. Though if he did pass out it's because he's so out of shape." Peka sighed. Stitch chuckled, she had a point. "Do you think we should go look for him?"

"There they are!" Stitch pointed, ripping a hole in the screen with his claw. "Oops." Peka dropped to the floor as Istari dropped her bike outside and carried Owen inside.

"Peka!" she squealed. "Owen told me! .kinda. I think he was a little confused."

"Does that surprise you?" Stitch asked, grabbing a jar of garlic as he jumped from the counter. He quickly stuck it under Owen's nose as Istari sat him down. Owen lay still for a moment before sitting bolt upright and grabbing the jar from Stitch.

"Garlic! Are we having spaghetti tonight?" Stitch rolled his eyes. Peka ignored the garlic and latched onto Owen. "Don't choke me, Peka. I won't be able to eat!"

"Don't worry, she won't choke you until she goes into labor." Jumba said, rooting around in the refrigerator. He pulled out a sandwich and tossed it to Owen. "It's not too stale." Owen snatched it out of the air eagerly, then as an afterthought gave half of it to Peka. At least she didn't have to worry about going hungry with him around.

"So who all knows?" Istari asked (after all, they hadn't seen her in awhile).

" us and Twy-er.593." Stitch counted.

"How do you think Nani will take it?"

"I hope she's not too upset." Peka said through her half sandwich. "There's so many of us now."

"What are you talking about?" Peka fell silent as everyone turned to the door very slowly. Lilo stood there with Nani behind. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"Um."

"Has anyone seen Pleakley?" Owen asked brightly, trying to change the subject. Trying and failing miserably.

"I'm right here." he said from outside. Nani wasn't distracted.

"Are you guys hiding something?" (She could be a very formidable opponent). Jumba decided to take the risk.

"Uh, 's expecting." Nani stared. "You one?"

"You mean." Nani turned to stare at Peka now. " Owen.?" she dropped into a chair. "Not another one."

"Possibly two." Jumba corrected her. Nani groaned helplessly.

"Then I guess we're having a big dinner tonight. Istari?"

"Sure." Stitch slipped out of the room as the two set to work. 'Now I wonder where Twyla's disappeared to?' he thought to himself, only just realizing that she was gone. He began to climb the stairs dismally, trying to sort out his feelings. He was lucky to have Lilo and the others, that he knew. But Owen seemed to be lucky in a different way. He had Peka (which was fine with Stitch. He still loved her, but at least she was happy) and now he was starting a family of his own. Stitch tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that rose inside him. He'd loved to do with Twyla? She'd never go for it. He tugged absently at his ear as he arrived to the top of the stairs. His thoughts snapped back to where he was when he heard voices coming from the observatory. He peered through the cracked door. Twyla was in the center of the room, staring open mouthed at Pish. Stitch couldn't see his face but he seemed a little unhappy.

"But why?" she looked horrified.

"593, I don't know about you, but I don't belong here. Maybe I can find a ride back to Turo from Dr. Astrawyn's brother. I want you to come with me." Twyla's face twisted into a grimace.

"But it's safe do you want me to leave?"

"You always telling me how much you hate it here. And besides, once the council finds out you're not really dangerous, they're sure to let you stay. Please, 593. I don't have any one else." What little hope there was in Stitch's heart died when Twyla shrugged acquiescently. "Thank you, 593. I'll talk to Dr. Astrawyn about it. Hopefully we can leave soon."

" ." She sighed. Stitch ducked into another doorway as Pish cheerfully left the room and bounded down the stairs. When the sound of his steps faded Stitch crept to the doorway. Twyla was staring up through the glass ceiling dejectedly. He cleared his thought nervously, but she ignored him. He steadied himself and joined her in the middle of the room. He joined her in looking up.

"The stars are bright tonight." she whispered. It was true. The sight reminded Stitch sharply of when they had gone to Turo. He had thought it was beautiful from space. "You heard?"

"Yeah. didn't you say no?" Stitch asked. He didn't want to be nosy, but it was unavoidable. Twyla kept her eyes on the sky, refusing to look at him.

"Pish doesn't have any one else. You heard him. No friends, no family to stay with, nothing. If I don't look after him, who will?" she didn't say anything for a moment. "Was it always like this for you?"

"Like what?"

"Having a love ."

"No. Once I was doomed to exile on a deserted asteroid." Twyla brought her eyes down to his.

"But then you found them?"

"Yeah. Twyla? don't want to leave, do you?" she looked heavenward again.

"No, but I don't think I really belong here either. Stitch."

"I'll miss you, Twyla." She wouldn't answer. Stitch looked up once more. "Maybe something'll you can stay."

"I can't. You don't understand. I'm leaving and there's no way to change that."


	9. They’re Leaving Tomorrow?

Twyla resisted the urge to run from the room. To run from the island. What in the name of all things holy was she doing? She couldn't believe she had just agreed to go back to Turo. She could have so much here.a family. A home. People care for her. She stopped dead in her tracks. How could anyone care for her? She was horrible, except to Pish. But she had been so ungrateful when they took her in. especially to Stitch. He had tried so hard to be her friend (and he had done a wonderful job). Twyla wrung her hands forlornly, thinking of his tone when they had talked about leaving. He seemed upset, almost as ears perked up. What if he did? could he? How could anyone ever love her? Twyla sighed heavily. If only she had tried.

Lilo beamed as she finished setting the table for dinner. She loved it when Nani asked her to do something important. Ignoring Pish's pleading voice, she turned and approached Stitch. He was sitting in the corner forlornly.

"What's wrong, Stitch?" she asked as she sat next to him. "Does your belly hurt?"

"I'm scared it's a little more complicated than that, Lilo."

"I think you mean afraid." Stitch sighed and slouched even lower. "I can keep a secret." She said slyly. Stitch lifted his head to look her in the eye.

" is leaving."

"I know."

"But he's taking Twyla with him! I don't want her to leave!" Stitch threw his arms around her desperately. She understood why he was upset, but there seemed to be something else. Just what it was was a little beyond a six-year-old, no matter how smart she was.

"Don't worry," she said, trying to be comforting. "Maybe he'll change his-"

"Alright then, tomorrow!" Lilo and Stitch both turned to stare at Pish and Istari. They appeared to have made some sort of an agreement. Stitch's arms dropped from Lilo in horror.

"What?" he moaned. Pish turned to him as if it were painfully obvious.

"We're heading to the mainland, to see Istari's brother. Are you going?" Stitch nodded weakly. "Alright then, be ready early, so we can catch our plane." He left the room cheerfully, not realizing he had crushed Stitch. He had been hoping they would stay a little longer than tomorrow. Nani turned to glance after Pish.

"Why is he taking a plane?"

Twyla climbed to her feet as Pish came into the hallway. She put on her tough act so he wouldn't see that she had been crying.

"Did you tell them?"

"Yes. We're leaving tomorrow."

"So soon?" Pish rounded on her suddenly.

"The sooner we're off of this hunk of dirt the better!" Twyla shrank back in surprise. Pish seemed to realize he was acting oddly and cleared his throat. "I believe dinner should be ready by now. I'm not coming, so if they ask I'm busy." He disappeared down the hall, leaving Twyla staring open-mouthed after him.

"Stitch, aren't you going to eat?" Nani asked across the extremely crowded table. Stitch shook his head glumly, not noticing that Twyla wore the same look of sadness. Nani continued to stare at him worriedly. "Are you feeling okay?" Stitch's forehead bumped against the table, but he made no effort to lift it. "Maybe you should lie down."

"Now that you mention it.I do feel kind of." he tried to think of a word, but he was drawing a blank. He excused himself quietly and made his way to Lilo's room (that he actually shared with her and the other experiments) and curled up in the top bunk. He didn't want anyone to be around right now, just him and the emptiness inside. He resisted the urge to growl as his ears picked up the sound of the door swinging open and clawed hands climbing into the bed next to him.

"Listen," it was Owen. "I'm sorry. About 593 leaving, I mean. I know how you feel."

"How could you possi-"

"Just trust me on this one, I know. I'd help you if I could." Stitch remained curled up, facing away from Owen to the oh-so-interesting wall. "But, you know, maybe it's not too late."

"What do you mean?" Stitch turned to him, his attention finally captured.

"I Twyla will see how much more you need her than Pish does. Then again, I'm making up these ideas as I go, so that's probably got nothing to do with you."

"I.I need her more?.Owen, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I doubt anything would change Twyla's mind." He turned to the wall again. Owen sighed and dropped to the floor, picking up a turkey and mashed potato sandwich from the floor.

"I was looking for ? Since when does she has a name?"

"She doesn't want anyone to know."

"Oh." Owen bit off half the sandwich and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, Stitch, love makes you do some crazy some of them are smarter than others."


	10. Stitch Tries to Find Twyla

Stitch barely slept that night. He couldn't stop thinking about what Owen had said. Maybe Twyla would change her how? He thought on this long after the others came to bed and Owen's snores lulled him to sleep.

"Stitch?" it was Lilo. She shook his shoulders gently. "Come on, let's play!" Stitch slowly lifted his head and looked around him. Lilo waited impatiently, Scrump in hand. "Why are you so slow?"

"Lilo.I don't have time right now. I have to-" Stitch was halfway to the door when she interrupted him.

"Istari and the others have already left. You slept through it." He rounded on her.

"What? Lilo, why didn't any one wake me up?"

"We tried," she shrugged. "But Pish wouldn't wait any longer. He told Twyla that you must not care very much."

"B-but." Stitch stuttered. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He narrowed his eyes at Lilo. She narrowed her eyes right back. Suddenly she leapt forward and slapped him.

"Wake up!"

Stitch's eyes snapped open to see Owen leaning over him, smacking him urgently. "Man, I thought I'd never get you up! You'd better hurry, I think they've already left." Stitch leapt up and bolted down the stairs. He skidded out the kitchen door only to find them already gone."It hasn't been too long, I think." Owen puffed behind him. Stitch stared out the kitchen door numbly. "If you run, maybe you can catch them!" Owen shoved half a sandwich (A/N where he pulls 'em from, I don't know) and shoved him outside. Watching Stitch bolt away through the yard he sighed. "God-speed, man."

"I can't believe you! Why didn't you bring Stitch? He told me he was coming!" Istari snarled at Pish. They were on a small, private plane that was supposed to be heading to Oahu, but they had paid quite a bit to go straight to the mainland. It was obviously not going to be a fun trip.

"Don't get mad at me!" Pish pulled his hat lower over his eyes (he and Jumba had donned tourist at least Jumba had. Pish looked more like a detective from a cheesy movie).

"Pish I can't believe you would do this to 593. You didn't even let her say goodbye to Stitch and the others!" Istari hissed, growing closer to decapitating Pish every second. Twyla's ears shifting slightly where she was curled up in a seat next to Jumba. Jumba caught the slight movement and cleared his throat.

"I still say we should have taken my ship. Could have been there by now." Pish and Istari let the subject drop.

"Jumba, if you had flown us, we'd have gotten lost over the Pacific by now." Istari teased, sitting next to her former colleague. She looked around his bulk to Twyla. "Are you okay?"

"Would you be okay in a situation like this?"

"How could I let this happen? I should have kept her away from Pish. I don't think the guy means any harm, but still." Stitch ran desperately through Hanalei, looking for them. He didn't know if there were any islanders with planes or not. He wrinkled his nose a little to tell how far it . There was no way he could get there in time just by running.

"Jumba?" Twyla lifted her head to her creator sadly. "Why do you think Stitch said no? I can't think of anything." Jumba sighed and stroked her head reassuringly.

" didn't think could say goodbye."

"What do you mean?"

" want him here now, but when time comes would you want to say goodbye? Knowing you may never see each other again?" Twyla's ears flattened against her head.

"Good point." she sniffled a little and settled down again, not bothering to act tough. Jumba continued to watch her.

"Who knows, maybe that thing called miracle will happen and he'll be here before we leave."

"Doubt it." Twyla muttered bitterly. "You know.I hope three of the planes engines burn out and we crash into a hillside in a giant fireball of death and everybody dies. Or maybe just Pish, yeah. I hope he gets sucked out a window and chopped up by the wings and then he slowly bleeds to death." Jumba and Istari stared at her.

"She's very creative, isn't she?"

Stitch pushed furiously, ignoring the shouts of the guy whose scooter he had stolen (traded Owen's sandwich for, really). He was losing hope by the minute, but there was still a glimmer.

'Stitch, if you don't show up I'm going to take you apart and make you less cute and fluffy.' Jumba thought as he stared out the window. He could easily feel the plane's engines starting through his seat. 'You can stop them, just make it.'


	11. Things Get Worse

"Brother bought a coconut, bought it for a dime, sister had another one, she trade it for a lime." Stitch smacked himself mentally (what a time to have a song stuck in your head!) as he skidded onto the dirt lane serving for a runway. He glanced around him at the two planes. He snorted and sped towards the larger one, which was just starting to pick up speed. "Here goes." he thought. 'Time to test those metallic compounds."

"Please, would you just go away?" Istari ignored the pilot as she poked and prodded every corner of the cockpit.

"But it's so interesting! Kind of primitive though." her gaze drifted to the throttle. "Why don't you take a break?"

Stitch furrowed his brow and concentrated hard. He didn't really need to. He and the plane were going to hit each other head on. At the last minute he leapt from the handlebars and launched himself straight at the cockpit.

"NI!" Istari squealed, snatching the throttle from the pilot. "You idiot! You not supposed to kill yourself! Trying to stop us!" she shrieked out the window. She watched as Stitch flew through the glass. And knocked the pilot into the wall.

"Sorry, I didn't know I'd missed the plane." He smiled, shaking his head.

"So have you though of any names?" Nani inquired as she and Peka lounged on the porch.

"Nani, we don't even know what it is yet." she smiled as she watched Lilo trying to tackling Owen. She was having trouble. "Lilo! Go for the stomach!"

"Hey, no fair!" Owen choked out as Lilo collided with him and they both dropped to the grass. All four of them broke into uncontrollable laughter, but as it subsided Peka couldn't help thinking of Stitch. These thoughts were also interrupted as Peka clutched her stomach.

"Peka? Are you alright, you don't look so good." Nani bent closer worriedly, Lilo and Owen approaching behind her.

"I think something's wrong."

"Are you going to go in there or not?" Istari asked. She watched as Stitch paced back in forth, ignoring the unconscious pilot.

"Aren't you supposed to be driving?"

"Oh yeah."

"Jumba! I am panicking here! I don't have the slightest clue what I'm doing!" Nani whined in the transmitter's tiny screen. "I mean, why is this happening now? We've only known for, what? One day? Two at most! This usually takes months!" Jumba did his best to calm her down.

"I am scientist! Not expert on birth!" Jumba swatted away Pish's hand and regained his only slightly lost composure. "I'm not done with the transmitter! She's the first to go through this, Nani. She may not need months. Just be there with what humans do." Jumba's face faded from the tiny screen.

"But." Nani weakly turned to her friends.

"Nani?" Owen watched her pitifully as he helped Peka to the couch. He hesitated before pulling Nani aside. "Something's definitely wrong here. She shouldn't be in so much she?" Nani couldn't help her growing worry. And Owen's frightened eyes only made it worse.

Twyla sighed at the ocean beneath her through the window, wishing bitterly that she had stood up to Pish. "HEY!" she whirled around as Pish cried out and the plane lurched in a sharp turn. She nearly shrieked at the sight she saw. Pish was aiming a plasma cannon at the door to the cockpit. Right at Stitch.

"STITCH! PISH, WHAT THE CRAP ARE YOU DOING?" he didn't even glance at her.

"He's here to stop us! We can't let him get in the way."

"Now wait just a minute-" Jumba roared, but Pish whipped out yet another blaster. " come over you? Why so violent suddenly?" Twyla saw it then. The way he looked at wasn't Pish. There was no way.

"What's come over me? I've seen the light. I always hated Quek. Hated him for how he treated me. But I see how he helped me. He was a brilliant scientist. You'd never come close, Jookiba." Jumba looked from him to Stitch, considering the situation.

"I understand now." Pish continued. "What he took 593 and that other one, the weak, pathetic one." Twyla's anger flared up against her friend.

"471 was not pathetic! He wasn't weak either! You take that back, Pish!"

"Face it, 593! You're better off without him! You're better off without all these losers on this stupid pathetic waste of a planet!" as he talked, he had been inching closer and closer to Twyla and the door. Now he snatched her in a flash and leapt out the door and out of sight. With a desperate shout, Stitch jumped after them.

(Meanwhile at home) Nani tried to resist, but she ended up joining Peka's yells anyway (Owen had passed out from screaming and his squeamish stomach). It was quite possibly the most disgusting thing she had ever seen.


	12. I’ll Be Here

Twyla pulled desperately against Pish's grasp, but it was pointless. 'Why on Turo didn't you give me strength like the others Jumba!' she thought bitterly, using her free arm to cling to the metal side of the plane.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Pish was complaining loudly enough to be heard over the wind. "Why didn't I just let Quek finish him off? He was right, they're all useless." Twyla flattened her ears against her head to block the words coming from her so-called friend. Questions raced through her mind: What had come over him? How long had he been like this? And worst of everything been an act?

Stitch ignored the deafening wind as it whipped around his small body. He used his usually concealed arms to help him skitter across the outside of the ship. 'Please,' he begged to whatever deity would care to listen. "Please let me get there.I didn't come all this way to lose her now." Stitch stopped in mid-step, his ears dropping to his back, and let out a loud hiss of contempt. Tensing himself, he began to follow a voice, muffled by the roar of the engines and the howl of the wind.

Nani tried to hide her tears from Owen (Peka was to busy vomiting to notice anything much). He was doing his best to keep himself together, despite the fact that his mate was growing worse and worse right before his eyes.

"Nani! Nani, what do we do? It's all blood now." Nani buried her face in the toweled bundle she cradled in her arms. "Nani?"

"I don't know what to do, Owen.I just don't know what's wrong. I'm going to call a vet or something."

"B-but." Nani quickly left the room, taking the bundle with her.

Jumba and Istari stared out the window in the cockpit.

" you think she'll be okay?"

"Huh? Oh, , I don't know, to tell truth. If I were there, I could possibly help, but Nani can handle it until we manage. What I'm worried about is whether Stitch has saved 593 yet." Istari sighed and gripped the throttle, pulling it back slightly to stay airborne.

"What happened back there?"

"Pish snapped. Not too surprising, though. He's been with Quek for a very long time. I honestly expected Twyla to do something like this."

" they're done out there or not, I'm taking this thing home."

"Open it!" Pish shoved Twyla against the steel siding of the plane.

"There's nothing here!" she protested.

"I don't care! Rip it open!" Twyla obediently dug her claws into the metal, taking as much time as she could in loosening it.

"I can't move it." she pulled weakly at the metal. "I don't know what you think you doing, Pish, but it-"

"Hurry up!" Pish pulled yet another plasma cannon out from somewhere inside his coat and slammed the butt-end of it into the back of Twyla's head. She slumped forward, unconscious, and was blown away by the wind before Pish could catch her.

Just in the nick of time, Stitch appeared in her path and caught her as she flew by him. (A/N bet you're wondering why no one has fallen off heh heh.) he glared at Pish, pure contempt in his eyes. Pish, however, just sneered at him.

"Don't know what I'm doing? I thought it was obvious." He began to pry at the steel siding himself. "I'm just doing what Quek had meant to Jumba was too ignorant to consider.I'm simply disposing of you pathetic experiments. In fact, I've already taken care of that , was it?" Stitch's claws flew to his ears as he shook his head in disbelief.

Peka." he dropped to his knees sadly, holding Twyla's limp body close to him. "W-what have you done?" Twyla stirred in his arms and opened her eyes blearily.

".Stitch?" he let go of her and turned to Pish.

"I don't care if I should or not.I'm gonna kill you."

Owen stared dismally at the elderly human bending over Peka. He kept making "Mmm-Hmm" sounds like all doctors do. It made Owen want to scream, but instead he wrapped his arms around the two multi-colored fuzzballs in front of him. (A/N remember the toweled bundle?) The newborns snuggled against his chest and caught the aquamarine fur in their tiny claws, unaware of what was going on around them.

The human "Mmm-Hmm"ed once more before turning to Nani. Owen shook his head towards the window, where Lilo was watching everything. She cocked her head and disappeared from view.

"Well, miss.I'd say that she's sick from a poison of some kind, but it's not one that I've ever seen this kind of a condition and premature birth.I'm not quite sure what to say."

"But can't you help her?" Nani begged, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's an unknown substance and there isn't any kind of antidote. She won't make it through tonight."

Nani burst into tears. "What about the." the vet shook his head sadly. "Go away!" Nani shrieked in a sudden burst of anger. The man left somewhat indignantly.

"Nani, what is it? Doesn't he have enough medicine?" Lilo asked her sister as she came back into the house. Nani didn't answer; she just bent over Peka. Owen joined her, crying freely.

"The idiot didn't even could've checked. What if they just discovered it and he just doesn't know? I ." Owen fell silent and climbed onto the couch next to Peka, babies and all. " .just leave me here, okay? If she goes.I'll be here. I'm not leaving you for anything in the universe now."

Pish continued to sneer at Stitch and Twyla. "Oh, that's right, you haven't seen her since this morning, have you? It's so easy to poison people these days." He let out an ecstatic laugh. But Stitch didn't find it the least bit amusing. With a strangled yell, he launched himself at Pish, breaking off the loosened piece of steel; he knocked the reptilian scientist into the plane's wiry innards.


	13. Pish’s End and a New Beginning

'I wonder what time it is...' Owen didn't open his eyes, hoping to be left alone with what was happening. Gradually, a faint purring interrupted the silence in the house. Owen reached out drowsily, searching for Peka, but instead of fur he found skin!

"Owen, don't poke!" Lilo scolded. Owen ignored her at first and flew into a panic.

"Oh no! Where is she? Did it happen? Why didn't you wake me up? WOULD SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING SO I'LL QUIT SCREAMING?"

"You're waking them up!" Owen stopped abruptly and turned to , to her lap. Two tiny (A/N what exactly would they be called?) puppies lay curled in her lap. One ignored them and went back to dozing. That one was greenish in color, with small ears and circular eyes much like Owen's. A splash of white adorned it's stomach and back. The other one was a shaggy little guy with blue fur and a red streak down his back and circling his legs. He reached up to Owen curiously, his long ears (which split sharply towards the ends) lifted hopefully.

"They don't have names yet, but they like to squeak!" Lilo giggled. Owen gently lifted the blue one under the arms and held him close.

"So they're gonna make it...but where's Peka? She didn't..."

"Oh that's right, I forgot! I was supposed to say she's outside with Nani and they didn't wake you up because you were so worried before that they thought you'd need the rest." Owen handed the pup back to Lilo, ignoring it's shrill squeaks of protest.

"I'll be back, I have to go see her."

Twyla tightened her grip on the metal, feeling quite dizzy from the blow she had taken to her head. Ahead, she could see Stitch and Pish wrestling violently, hanging halfway out of the hole she had made. It was starting to get ugly; every so often a shower of sparks would engulf them. Twyla didn't take her eyes off of them for a second as she inched away towards the hatch.

Stitch ignored the sparks as he bore down on Pish, knocking the plasma cannons from his hands. He didn't think much about what he was doing, he just did it. He did his best to ignore the small voice he'd acquired since coming to Earth. The one that was screaming at him to stop. To just control himself and turn Pish into Cobra to deal with, but all that mattered to him was that Pish regretted what he had done to Peka. What he had done to his family.

He had tried to kill Peka! Stitch still loved her enough to be driven to revenge. And what's worse, he wasn't just losing her...he was losing her children. Even though they weren't his...never could be...he was still enraged over this. He would've loved them all the same.

With a growl Stitch slammed Pish against the metal, pinning him with two arms, pulling another fist back for the finishing blow. But as he let his fist fly forward, Pish somehow twisted to the side. Before he could stop himself, Stitch fist collided with the plane's innards.

Twyla skidded into Jumba's enormous stomach as the ship lurched to the side.

"What was that?" Istari clung to the throttle, trying to straighten them out. Jumba stood Twyla on her feet and moved to the windshield (A/N or whatever it's called).

"That must have been Stitch...I hope he does not go too far with dealing with psycho. Perhaps you should go see what is happening?"

Nani ran her fingers through Peka's fur as she lay curled up next to her. She rubbed the silken ears gently, just glad that things might be okay after all. "I just hope that Stitch managed to catch them..." she sighed.

"Stitch has the determination of a freedom craving eel. He'll be fine." She looked up to see Owen standing in the doorway quietly. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long, only about a half an hour or so. Did you see them?"

"Yeah." He smiled as he joined the other two on the bench, Peka continued to sleep. "Don't know why one turned out blue, but that's okay." Owen took her into his arms and nuzzled her cheek. "So, she's gonna be okay, right?"

"They all are. She really is a fast healer, huh? I guess they've gotten that from her."

"Yeah." They fell into silence as Owen seemed to stare off into space.

"I'll go make something to eat." Nani said suddenly. She got up and disappeared inside. Owen started to question it, but Peka began to stir in his arms.

"Owen?...is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I'm the first thing you gotta see when you wake up."

"I'd rather see you than anyone else." She smiled at him happily. "So?"

"Well...the kids are both kinda skinny, but we can fix that. I claim teaching about food rights." Owen said sternly. Peka giggled.

"Fine. Does it feel strange to you?"

"Sure does...us with kids. Who'd've thunk it. You know, I really thought I was gonna lose you."

"Aren't you glad you can't get rid of me that easily?"

Stitch was literally spittin' mad. He tightened his hold on Pish and began to pull him towards the side of the plane where the metal curved smoothly downward. Pish finally seemed to realize what was happening and scrabbled around him for a handhold, but it was no use. Stitch, however was very unhappy of what he was doing, but it had to be done. His rage, though not subsiding, had cleared a small path for that little voice, his conscience. He didn't really want to kill Pish, but he deserved it. At least that's how Stitch saw it. He didn't wonder about Pish motives or whether he was just insane. All he knew was that Pish had tried to kill his family...possibly already killed Peka.

Stitch had a horrible sinking feeling as the full realization hit him. His conscience seemed to back off as he crawled across the ship's underside. Tauntingly, he dangled Pish above his head, giving him a clear view of the island below.

"You tried to kill my family...they took you in. Made you a part of our Ohana...this is my way of saying thanks." Pish twisted his neck so he could look at Stitch.

"Even if you get rid of 'll be others. As long as you're here with that pathetic gang of outcasts you call a family someone's always going to be behind your back, coming after you." He hissed, his voice rising in panic. Stitch smiled pleasantly.

"You're right, someone will always be behind me. But not some one like you, it'll be Lilo." Stitch started to let go. Pish scrambled to get a hold of him.

"You'll regret this!" he shouted shrilly. Stitch's fake smile faded into a frown.

"Yes, I know I will. And I know that I shouldn't be doing it...but if I don't then you'll come back. If not to come after us, then to hurt someone else. I just can't let you do that, Pish." With a grimace, Stitch forced himself to let go. Flattening his ears against Pish's foul language, he skittered as fast as he could toward the hatch.

"So what do you think they are?"

"I think they're guys."

"How can you tell?" Peka wrinkled her nose at Owen. "Where's Jumba when you need him."

"I'm just guessing. Really, they just look like little rainbow balls of lint."

"Owen!"

"It's true!" The blue one was clinging to Nani, so Peka scooped up the green one in her arms, but it wriggled until it plopped onto her lap. "You know, we can't call them 'this one' and 'that one' forever. They need names." Owen leapt to his feet and began to pace around the room seriously, Lilo followed close behind. "I've got it!" he cried, stopping so suddenly that Lilo slammed into him from behind. "Owe and Wen!"

"No, Owen." Peka rolled her eyes. Nani laughed from the couch. "How about..."

"Elvis and Jesse!" Lilo suggested. This time, Nani rolled her eyes.

"Lilo, they're the parents, let them-"

"Who's Jesse?" Owen interrupted her. Lilo was overjoyed at the question.

"Don't you know anything? Elvis Aron and Jesse Garon Presley. Jesse was Elvis's twin."

"Elvis had a twin?"

"Yep! But he died being borned." Peka stroke the pup's head thoughtfully as it nestled itself into her lap.

"I do kind of like Aron and Garon..."

"Alright then, Aron and Garon it is! Now what do ya say we celebrate with a jellybean and pickle sandwich?" (A/N good old Owen...always straight to the food.)

Stitch struggled against the wind as he crawled toward the hole in the ship. He caught sight of Twyla up ahead, struggling with something in the hole. Despite the wind, his sensitive nose picked up the scent of diesel...gas leak. Within seconds he was beside her.

"Where's Pish?" she asked. Stitch ignored her. "Stitch?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What happened?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it. Now help me plug this hole or we'll never make it home." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh Stitch...you didn't!" Stitch turned away shamefully. "How could you do such a thing? He tried to hurt us, but that's no excuse!"

"Twyla, I'm not exactly proud of it but I had to! I can't lose anyone else." Twyla stopped herself from shouting at the look he gave her. She could easily tell what he was thinking.

"Stitch, maybe...Peka's okay after all. Owen can take care of her."

"Most likely, she took care of him." With a sigh he turned around and rammed his backside into the hole, covering the break in the fuel line.

"What are you doing?" he smiled casually at her.

"Oh, you know. Just saving the plane."


	14. Here We Are

"Okay, guys..." Owen stood authoritatively in front of Aron and Garon. They were more interested in the sandwich he was waving than what he was saying, though. "I'm the big cheese here, so if you're gonna stay in my house there're some things you need to remember." He began to pace, eating as he talked (oh, surprise surprise). "Number one: no eating pickle and strawberry frosting after 9:30. Trust me, you'll be sicker than a carsick poodle. Number two: don't ask your mother to make your sandwiches for you. Trust me, she doesn't have the gift. Number three: always hide your messes. Nani can be pretty crabby sometimes." The blue one (they had decided that he was Garon) finally lost interest in his father's food and wandered off towards the refrigerator.

"Um...Owen?" Peka asked from the table.

"Just a second." He went on pacing.

"Did you realize that our son is now trapped in the fridge?"

"No he's not. He's...he's trapped in the fridge! WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO? WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO?" Owen flopped down next to Aron. Peka rolled her eyes and wandered over to them casually.

"You're pathetic." She pulled open the door, freeing Garon. The pup skittered on the wood floor and slid into Owen.

"I'm almost like having another kid, huh?"

"Well you see...there was a storm! An electric storm. Somehow the lightning caused a section of the plane to just disappear! We found it like that as we were landing." Stitch fidgeted as Istari tried to explain what had happened to the plane's owner. She was failing wonderfully. Stitch was upset, and he just couldn't ignore those horrible urges to break something. Nothing much, maybe a better yet, the plane. It wouldn't be flying again anytime soon. The owner seemed to be feeling destructive too; he was shouting at Istari and gesturing wildly at the gaping hole. Istari was trying to keep from giggling at the huge veins popping from his neck. Stitch left Twyla and sauntered over to the aircraft. With a glance around him, he casually began ripping away small chunks of the plane's wing and tossing them aside. He still felt awful.

"I don't care what you think happened!" the owner was yelling. "I want a new plane. And you're gonna..." there was a loud buzzing sound and the man fell to the ground. Jumba lowered a strange looking weapon.

"I got bored other night and built stunner. Let's go home before he gets up."

Lilo stood on the porch silently, giving up playing with Aron and Garon to watch for Stitch. She thought he'd be back, but maybe Stitch couldn't do everything as fast as it seemed. She listened as Nani shooed everyone out of the kitchen. With a cry of protest, Owen appeared in the doorway with an arm full of incomplete sandwiches and another arm full of Aron.

"Have you taken root yet?"

"Stitch isn't back." Lilo continued to stare down the road. Owen sat down heavily to eat.

"If he caught up to them in time, then he might not be back for a few days." Lilo didn't say anything. "Are you gonna stand here all that time?"

"I want to see him when he comes home. We're usually together."

"Oh..." Owen smiled at her. "Getting a little jealous are we?" Lilo made a face.

"No, but I'm used to him being here. I want him to come home. 593 too." She sighed and turned to him. "Do you think he did it?"

"Yeah. Stitch could germinate if he really wanted to."

"Germinate?"

"You know what I mean."

"Come on!" Twyla tugged at Stitch's arm as they lagged behind Jumba and Istari, but he dug his claws into the dirt path.

"No, I can't do it. What am I supposed to say? 'Hello everyone, we're back. Oh did I forget to mention I'm a murderer now?'" Twyla rolled her eyes and let go of him. Stitch tumbled backwards. "Hey!"

"They'll understand. You kind of had to." She attempted to pull him by his middle. "You got to face them sooner or later."

"Twyla," he pulled away so he could look at her. "I could've just turn him over to Mr. Bubbles. He would've took care of the whole thing. But I didn't! I killed him!" he stopped suddenly, his ears perking up immediately. Shamefully, he turned to face Lilo as she came running up the path toward them.

"There you are! I was starting to wonder if you'd ever come back!" neither Stitch nor Twyla responded. "What's wrong?"

"You know, I think I'll go say sorry for the way I acted before." Twyla spoke up suddenly. She grinned supportively at Stitch before disappearing from sight, leaving Stitch at a loss for words and Lilo wanting an explanation. Lilo finally began walking after a long silence.

"So, did you guys get Pish to Istari's brother's?"

"Pish didn't make it, Lilo."

"Then where is he?" the little girl turned to look down the path behind them. "I saw Jumba and Istari already."

"He won't be coming back." Stitch picked up the pace as much as he could without being too obvious. "Lilo...um, when did it happen?"

"Huh?"

"Peka."

"Oh, that." Lilo beamed at her friend. "A couple of hours ago." Stitch stopped in his tracks.

"Why are you so happy?" the little girl began tugging him toward the house.

"What are you talking about, Stitch? Oh you shoulda been there! Peka and Owen are so happy, and wait till you meet Aron and Garon!" Stitch gave her a wide-eyed, confused look, but she plugged on ahead. "At first Peka was awfully sick. And the vet said she was gonna die. But now she's okay!"

"Wait a minute...Peka's alive?" Stitch broke into a run, surprise and joy overpowering his guilt. But then he remembered what was going on and managed to skid to a stop right outside the front door. "I can't go in there."

"What? Come on, you gotta!"

"Lilo, I thought...I thought Peka was dead!" he pulled Lilo away from the door. "Pish, he poisoned Peka! Tried to kill her! And Twyla and he tried to wreck the plane! I- I threw him off." Lilo stared at him.

"You did what?"

Stitch turned away shamefully and slumped down on the steps. "I had to, he might've tried to hurt someone else. I understand if you and Nani want me to leave." Stitch braced himself for the anger that was sure to come. To his surprise, Lilo threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh Stitch! Just because you were bad, doesn't mean we want you to leave. If you want to, that's okay. But I hope you don't." she buried her face in his soft, blue fur. "I love you, Stitch."

"I love you too, Lilo...So, you're not mad?"

"Nope." Lilo wrinkled her nose at him. "He didn't seem very nice, no matter what 593 said. I still think he was a big meany."

"No, it's Twyla now. Not 593."

"Twyla? Who came up with that?"

"Who do you think?" Stitch sighed and climbed to his feet. "I guess we better go in now. I got to tell everybody before I get too scared."

Everyone was there, even Cobra, squeezed into the tiny kitchen. And everyone was staring at Stitch open- mouthed. Pleakley suddenly turned red in the face and leapt to his feet. "Why would he do something like that? Why on Earth would he want to kill Peka and 593?"

"I told you. He's a psycho." Stitch sighed. "And it's not 593, its Twyla!" Stitch retreated to where Twyla was standing with Lilo and the others and Aron and Garon immediately latched onto him. Cobra shook his head.

"So many changes in just one day. Looks like we'll have our hands full." he glanced at Nani. "We might as well start dinner. I'd said things will go back to normal, but I don't think they ever will again."

"So, what do you think?" Peka asked. Stitch smiled slightly at the little furballs biting at him.

"Cute and vicious...looks like they got the best of both of you." Owen pulled the younglings off Stitch as Peka threw her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you got to her in time, Stitch. I really am." Owen cocked an eyebrow at his mate.

"Of course you do know that if he hadn't caught her, he would've gotten her back some other way."

"I know, but I'm still glad." She pulled away from him and threw an arm around Twyla's shoulder. "So, what now?" Stitch smile at his family.

"We wait till tomorrow."

End!


	15. Things Settle Down

One week had already passed since the incident with Pish. Aron and Garon were growing like weeds, Owen hadn't gained much responsibility by becoming a father, and Peka was as healthy as ever. Lilo was busily preparing for the next school year to start and Stitch was helping as much as he could. Twyla, however, had turned a bit shy. She wasn't speaking to everyone as much as she had before and was spending a lot of time with Jumba. Nobody was sure what exactly was going on, but they decided to leave it alone.

Eventually, the night before Lilo's first day of second grade came. After twenty minutes of protesting, Nani had finally managed to get Lilo in bed. Stitch however, decided to go to the observatory. He had just finished climbing the stairs when he heard voices from inside.

"Have you decided?" Stitch stopped, his hand already on the doorknob. There was no mistaking Jumba's voice.

"No." there was Twyla. Stitch pressed his ear lightly against the door. "I've tried to talk to him, but I always get nervous. This isn't exactly something I've done before." They were talking about HIM.

"He's going to find out sooner or later. It's best that you tell him."

"But Jumba-"

"No, you need to tell him, and that is that." Stitch scrambled into the shadows as Jumba's heavy footsteps approached the door. "I'm going to see Peka and the small ones. I'd like to check on them again, such poisons as they encountered may have lasting effects not immediately evident. Don't stay here too long, solitude is not always a good thing."

"Okay Jumba." Jumba thundered slowly down the stairs, leaving the door open. After a few seconds Twyla stepped out. "Don't bother hiding Stitch." She smiled in his direction. "I know you're there." Stitch stepped sheepishly into the light. She pulled him into the observatory towards the telescope. "You can see Turo tonight. Wanna look?" she smiled and started fiddling with the knobs, clearly avoiding a certain subject. Stitch just watched her. After some time she spoke.

"How much did you hear?" she asked nervously. Her grey ears quivered a little, but that was the only sign of her feelings.

"Not a lot." Stitch wandered over to a star chart on the wall, tracing the constellations with his claw like Lilo did. "Have you been wanting to talk to me?" Twyla accidentally scratched the telescope with her claw, causing Stitch to cringe.

" ." She chuckled, trying to act casual. "I mean, we haven't talked much lately, huh?"

"No, we haven't." Stitch met her in the middle of the room. Together, they looked up through the clear panel in the ceiling, the starlight washing over them. Twyla coughed a little.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about the way I acted before." She sighed. "I just wasn't really sure if, you know...if I wanted to stay here. It's easier to leave if no one likes you."

"Sometimes you stop people from loving you. Lilo liked you from the start."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Stitch grinned at her. "Lilo's friendly. I should know."

"Stitch, I'm sorry to you especially." Twyla turned away from him. "I was awful! And..." she turned back to him and laid her hand on his chest, which was already healed. A light scar marked the place where she had slashed him. "I'm so sorry."

"That's alright, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is." Twyla began to sniffle. "I didn't have any reason to do that."

"It was an accident." Stitch pulled her hand from his chest and held it gently. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Not one to dwell on faults, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Stitch lowered himself to the floor, pulling her after him. They fell into a short silence broken by Twyla.

"Thank you." Started stared at her quizzically.

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me." Twyla leaned a little closer to him. Stitch tried not to stare at the way the moonlight made her fur seem to glow. "If you had given up on me, I wouldn't be here. I'm glad you 're so stubborn."

"Don't mention it." Stitch wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Twyla purred happily.

"By the way, we need to think of a name."

"Name?" it took several minutes for him to realize what that meant. "WHAT?"

"Oh, come on! Haven't you noticed how me and Jumba have been together so much lately?"

"You mean...you and JUMBA?"

"NO!" Twyla punched his arm. "Us, who else?"

"Well there's..." Stitch looked thoughtful as he searched through his mind. "Nope, can't think of anybody." Twyla laughed and kissed his nose.

"Imagine, three fuzzballs instead of just Aron and Garon!" Stitch laughed too.

"Let's just hope Owen hasn't rubbed off on me too much. One of us has to be a responsible father."

"Oh, you mean like Peka?"

"Yeah, " Stitch smiled as Twyla nuzzled the fur at his throat. Now he had everything he needed...or wanted for that matter. "Just like Peka."


End file.
